Spooks, but not the KGB

by Feòrag

Russia: Pravda carries a feature about Russian traditions surrounding ghosts. Many of them seem to be associated with tragedy:

Little remained from ancient Moscow, except for the Kremlin. Ghosts love the Kremlin. From time to time, a red spot appears on the walls of Konstantino-Eleninskaya tower where a torture chamber was located in XVII century. A pale uncombed lady holding a gun in her hands, lives in Komendantskaya tower. This is famous Fanny Kaplan who attempted to kill Lenin and who was executed by shooting by Kremlin's superintendent Malkov.

St. Petersburg has a rather interesting spectral resident:

The ghost of the first director of the Academy of Arts, architect Kokorin is wondering around the Academy's corridors. When the weather is bad, at nights somebody knocks at the Academy's gates and shouts, It's me, sculptor Kozlovsky from Smolenskoe cemetery, I got wet and frozen in my grave.open the door!

And there's no way I could resist this tale from Yaroslavl:

A goblin lives in the local bath-house. People often hear somebody walking in the bath house, opening taps and moving wash-basins. The former bath house attendant fell ill after meeting the man, and retired from the job. The local bell-ringer started hearing voices after attending the bath house.

And don't forget - the world ends later today!

Where ghosts live in Russia - Pravda, 18th August 2004.